The University of Redlands swimming & diving program jumped into action on Saturday, competing in its own Redlands Invitational at Cal Baptist University.  The Bulldogs gained experience against NAIA opponents while besting fellow Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) foes to take fourth place.  The women scored 218 points and the men garnered 222 points to finish as the top NCAA Division III school at the meet.

For the women, sophomore Chandra Lukes (Escondido, CA) picked up right where she left off during her stellar rookie campaign, notching the team's only individual second-place finish, which came in the 100 Free (54.63).  She also touched the wall in third place during the 50 Free with a time of 24.99. 

In addition, Lukes combined forces with senior Shirin Sedaghat (Boulder, CO), sophomore Summer Harp (San Bernardino, CA) and freshman Samantha Ettinger (Hartford, CT) for a second-place effort in the 200 Free Relay.

Senior Caitlin Michaels (Hanover, NH) posted a pair of top-six showings during the Maroon and Gray's first meet of the season.  She took fifth in the 100 Back with a time of 1:04.17 and then placed sixth in the 200 Back at 2:17.37.  Senior Jessie Chansler (Kirkland, WA) closely followed her on the shorter race, taking sixth with a time of 1:04.30.

The Redlands divers also got off to a solid start, with freshman Akari Matsumoto (Redmond, WA) collecting the highest score among the Bulldogs at 133.80 for a sixth-place performance on the one-meter board.

For the men, the usual suspects stepped up for solid contributions during this early-season competition. 

Sophomore Jeff Depew (Naperville, IL) recorded a trio of second-place efforts while joining forces on a fourth-place relay team.  He fired off a time of 53.83 in the 100 Back before uncorking a second-place mark of 2:00.76 in the 400 Individual Medley.  He capped off his strong individual showings with a second-place time of 1:57.46 in the 200 IM.   Depew led off the 200 Medley Relay of senior Chris Depew (Naperville, IL), junior David Ortyn (Bainbridge Island, WA), and junior Brent Reed (Dublin, CA), helping the quartet to touch the wall in 1:38.88.

In addition to the relay, C. Depew came up with a pair of fourth-place performances in the 200 Fly (2:00.76) and 100 Fly (52.37).  Ortyn quickly followed him in the shorter race, taking seventh with a time of 53.86.

Sophomore Eric LoPrete (Beaverton, OR) added to the top finishes, earning fourth in the 200 Free (1:48.01) and fifth in the 500 Free (4:59.82). 

On the diving boards, the Bulldogs saw newcomer Chaz Bruckman (Albuquerque, NM) take third in the three-meter with a score of 135.34, while junior Steven Cully (Anaheim Hills, CA) registered a third-place effort of 126.70 on the one-meter.

Redlands returns to Cal Baptist on Nov. 3 for a dual meet against the Lancers, beginning at 10 a.m.